Stone Cold (Swindells novel)
 1997 hardback edition | |
| Author | Robert Swindells |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult novel Horror novel |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Stone Cold is a young adult novel by Robert Swindells, published in 1993. The narrative switches between Link, a newly homeless sixteen-year-old who is getting to grips with his new predicament, and Shelter, an ex-army officer (who recruits homeless people) scorned after being dismissed from his job. Because he lost his job, Shelter gets rid of homeless people on the streets of London by killing them. He gets them to come to his house It is inevitable that the two meet.
The novel was awarded the 1993 Carnegie Medal.
Plot summary
link lives with his mother and sister, his father left his familiy for his secretary. Link's mother got a new boyfriend becomes Vince made Links sister(who Link was close to) Carole move out and live with her boyfriend as Vince tried to do something to her. He kicks him out of a his own house his mother doesn't say anything about this because she lost her self-esteem after Vince moved in, and is afraid of what vince will do, and so is living with her boyfriend which in Links eyes is something he can't stand, and just to top it off Vince having one eye on Link, makes sexual references with his mother in front of Link. Also Vince slapped him afew times in the head one time. Link disgusted and annoyed by this leaves home and as he calls it "making yourself homeless" Before he went to london he went to Caroles for a bit once a week but Chris her boyfriend was getting upset about it. So when he said he was going to London, his mum and Carole gives him a sleeping bag. Link is also given some money.
After arriving in London, he finds a room, but a fortnight's rent costs him two-thirds of his money. He looks for a job but All the companys wouldn't employ him because of his: Apperance (Living on the street has made him flithy), Intelligence (Link only has 5 GCSEs) or overall there were better options. Soon the landlord kicks him out before the fortnight is over and he is again homeless. Now Link cannot get a job since he has no address and he cannot get an address since he has no job. Link is very afraid alone on the streets, but after a while he meets the streetwise Ginger who is also homeless. Ginger teaches Link how to survive on the streets of London. Ginger points out that Link won't get benefits because he left the house by his own judgement, he wasn't kicked out or forcefully made homeless.
Meanwhile Shelter (real name unknown) kills homeless people in London. Shelter served in the Army for twenty-nine years, before recruiting homeless people from the streets and turning it into his own "army". He was discharged on medical grounds, but he claims to be 'as fit as a butcher's dog'. He believes that the army is hatching a plan to fill up the cities with homeless people so they can undermine the city. The actual reason was because he was mentally unstable. He chooses to "clean up" the streets by killing the homeless and hiding them under his floorboards. Shelter plans very meticulously. He starts small and tries not to create a pattern in his killings so he cannot be tracked down. By buying a flat and a cat (something he describes as "owning a cat is unthreatening" he manages to lure many of the homeless to their deaths with promises of a warm shower and something to eat. By the time he encounters Link, Shelter has killed seven people.
Link and Ginger first meet Shelter when they ask him for any spare change, but he replies "Change! I'd change you, me lad, if I had you in khaki for 6 weeks!". As they walk away they laugh at a remembered joke, instead Shelter thinks they are laughing at him. They become his targets – named Laughing Boy One (Ginger) and Laughing Boy Two (Link).
As Ginger is going to meet some friends, Shelter persuades him to come to his flat, saying that Link is there, lying on his floor after an accident. Once there, Shelter kills Ginger. After some time, Link believes Ginger has gone off with his "real friends" and that he is on his own again. Shortly after this, Link meets Gail, commenting that she is the best-looking dosser he has ever seen. Gail follows Link, asking him questions on how he has survived for so long.
Link notices that something is "off" about Gail, but he does not know what. While Gail leaves him to make a phone call to her mother, Shelter invites Link into his flat and tries to kill him. Gail manages to save Link's life by calling the police, who catch Shelter in the act of attempted murder. At the end Gail tells Link that she is actually is Louise Bain, a reporter studying homelessness. Gail gives Link a lot of banknotes, which he considers "throwing away the homeless people so they won't be a problem. Moreover Link thinks that it is unfair that Shelter gets a roof over his head and a hot meal (in prison) and Link gets nothing – living on the streets of London, cold and hungry.
Characters
Link
Link/Dave is the main character of the novel. He was born on March 20 1977 and is 16 years old. His mother's boyfriend kicked him out of his house after his father divorced. Link is not his real name, but it is what he says when anyone asks. He got his name from a sign which read "Thameslink" upon arriving in London from Bradford. Link refers to his origin as "up north" to avoid revealing his birth place.
After a few bad days of being homeless he meets Ginger, a streetwise person who has been homeless for quite some time. They become best friends but Link does not trust him entirely, because every time, when Ginger leaves him, Link feels scared and worries that Ginger goes to his real mates.
Shelter
Shelter is a former sergeant-major who is on a mission to kill all of the homeless people of London, which he calls garbage. He believes that there is nobody who does anything against them and politicians, social workers and even the church support them, undermining the country by encouraging "winos and crims". Thinking that the country is trying to flood the country with "garbage", he chooses to clean up the "garbage" by killing all the homeless people. Shelter plans meticulously and practises his facial expressions so he can act empathetic and lure the homeless into his house. He solves his biggest problem - the disposing of the bodies - by keeping them under the floorboards. Later in the book he refers to the victims as 'the Camden Horizontals'; this is the army he wants to create with "volunteers" only.
Shelter is the main antagonist of the book.
Ginger
Ginger is a streetwise homeless person who becomes Link's friend after sharing a doorway one night. He has been homeless for quite some time, and he teaches Link how to survive on the streets. He and Link become best friends. How old is he?
Gail
Gail is a reporter investigating homelessness. She meets Link later in the story, shortly after Ginger goes missing. She reveals her secret of being a reporter gradually by making 'urgent' and frequent phone calls, having a lot of money and asking a lot of questions. After Shelter is arrested by the police, she tells Link of her true identity. Gail disappoints and shortchanges him.
I feel that gale was a poo face and she was using link and i hate her guts
Others
Other people in this book include Link's sister Carole, his mother and her new partner Vince, and the homeless victims of the killer Shelter.
Television
In 1997, the novel was adapted for a TV series of the same title, starring James Gaddas and Elizabeth Rider. The short series was shown on BBC Two.